Anchor: On the heels of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s announcement that it would raise its short term rate for the first time in almost ten years to the range of zero-point-25 to zero-point-five percent, Seoul’s financial authorities gathered to discuss response measures. Citing South Korea’s sound economic fundamentals, the nation’s vice finance minister predicted the rate increase would have a limited impact on the nation’s economy.
Our Kim Bum-soo has more.
 
Report: Seoul's Vice Finance Minister has predicted that the interest rate hike in the U.S. will not take much of a toll on the South Korean economy.
 
Officials from the finance ministry, the central bank and the nation’s financial watchdogs held a joint meeting Thursday morning to discuss response measures to the U.S. rate increase.
 
At the emergency macroeconomic meeting, Vice Minister Joo Hyung-hwan assessed that the rate decision will have a limited impact on the South Korean economy in the short term.

[Sound bite: 1st Vice Minister Joo Hyung-hwan (Korean)]
"...South Korea is not an oil or raw material exporter and it's based on fiscal and external soundness in terms of foreign currency reserves and current account surplus."
 
He said South Korea’s economic fundamentals are in a good shape and its economy will be differentiated from other emerging economies once the global market concerns are eased.
 
He also stressed that the rate hike was a much-anticipated move and that the U.S. Fed's process of normalizing interest rates is likely to proceed gradually.
 
Experts, however, expressed concerns that when emerging economies slow down following the rate hike in the U.S., South Korean exports could be negatively affected.
 
Some experts also said if South Korean lenders are forced to raise their borrowing costs the nation’s household debt problem could further worsen and liquidity concerns could emerge for businesses.
 
The vice finance minister said that the government will put contingency plans in place when deemed necessary, and that the finance ministry and related government agencies will launch 24-hour joint monitoring of the market. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.